Sisterly Competition
by HermioneLunaPotter
Summary: Draco Malfoy is engaged to Astoria Greengrass, an arrangement made by Narcissa and Lucius in order to help their family come out of the dark. But Draco is not content with this arrangement. Does old flame, Daphne - his fiancee's older sister - still have a place in his heart? Written for Round 7 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. T for language.


_**Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition - Round 7**_

_**Team: **Wimbourne Wasps_

_**Position: **Beater 2_

_**Prompts: **Red nails, mysteriously silent. _

_**Sinking Ship: **Drastoria_

* * *

_Sisterly Competition_

"Draco, darling," Astoria called from the bedroom. "Could you give me a hand for a moment?"

With a sigh, Draco rose from his position on the couch and traipsed upstairs to the bedroom he shared with his fiancée. He and Astoria had been living with Lucius and Narcissa ever since the marriage had been announced. The two of them were to be married in the spring, after being engaged for six months. The arrangement had been most profitable for both the Greengrass' and the Malfoys, but Draco felt nothing but dread at the thought of his marriage to Astoria.

When he arrived at the door of them bedroom, he took a moment to admire her. Facing the mirror with the pale skin of her back exposed, she was beautiful and she knew it. Her long, blonde hair was piled messily on top of her head, which gave him a view of her slender neck and defined shoulder blades. Astoria Greengrass had always been beautiful; that was something Draco couldn't deny.

She turned her head at the sound of his arrival and her face broke out into a sly smile.

"What are you staring at?" she asked coyly, knowing full well that he was admiring her beauty.

Draco stepped towards her and kissed her cold, pale cheek softly. "You," he muttered simply.

She laughed coolly. "I need you to zip me up."

Her request was almost demanding and Draco had no choice but to obey. He slowly pulled the zipper upwards, careful not to catch her skin and let his fingertips dance lightly across to top of her shoulders. Astoria turned in his grasp and straightened his tie. He caught a quick glimpse of her long, red fingernails, curved into talons that looked equally sharp.

"Are you excited about today?" she quipped, letting her hands rest on his chest.

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. It was his twenty-first birthday and his family were throwing him a small party. The gathering would consist of his and Astoria's family, and a handful of their closest friends. Normally, Draco would have felt thrilled at being the centre of attention amongst his family. He enjoyed boasting about how successful he was in his career and showing off his magnificent manor. But a dark cloud lingered over the day, and it came in the shape of Daphne Greengrass.

Astoria's older sister had quite a complicated past, and her history with Draco was almost just as complex. She was a cheerful, shy little thing, and Draco was drawn to her bright aura like a moth to flame. She epitomised everything that was good and right in the world, and he wanted nothing more than to share in her light. With his family and Astoria around, he knew he was going to have to control his attraction to her, which would test him greatly.

"How can you not be excited?" Astoria scolded with a click of her tongue, shaking her head at him. "You only turn twenty-one once. Surely, you're looking forward to the celebration."

Draco sighed. "I suppose so," he replied blankly. Astoria noticed his reluctance, but said nothing of the matter and kissed him quickly on the mouth. He could feel her red lipstick tainting his lips and he carefully licked it away, trying not to grimace at the horrid taste.

"Come," she tugged on his arm in the direction of the door. "My parents will be here any moment."

He allowed her to lead him downstairs into the foyer, where Narcissa and Lucius were greeting Astoria's parents. The two families appeared elegant, refined and well dressed, speaking volumes about their wealthy, Pureblood ancestry. Narcissa looked up as the young, betrothed couple approached and beamed at them.

"Ah, Draco darling. Glad you could join us so soon."

She rushed forward and pulled her son into a soft embrace, and Draco tried to return the same warmth. But as rested his chin against his mother's shoulder, he was lost in a pair of deep brown eyes. His breath caught in his throat and he hastily pulled away from Narcissa and cast his eyes to the floor.

"Happy Birthday, Draco," cooed Naomi Greengrass, Astoria's mother. The small, dark haired woman came forward and kissed his cheek fondly. "It is so good of you to invite us here to celebrate. We apologise for bringing Daphne along, but Astoria insisted."

Draco's eyes quickly flashed to said sister and his throat suddenly became dry. A vision in a simple, indigo dress, Daphne gave him a small smile which lit up her entire face. Her expressive brown eyes were framed elegantly by her dark brown curls, and the lighting showed off the cluster of tiny freckles that decorated her perfect nose. She looked beautiful. He felt Astoria's grip on his arm tighten and he hastily looked away before addressing Naomi.

"It was no problem, Madam," he replied smoothly, as though nothing had happened. "I am glad to share this day with you and your family."

Naomi nodded. "Well, it was only fitting, seeing as we will soon become your family." She locked eyes with her daughter, and Astoria giggled and wrapped her arm around Draco's waist.

"Of course," Narcissa agreed heartily. "And what a fine family we will make. Would you care to adjourn to the sitting room for some tea, Naomi, darling?"

"I think that is smart, Narcissa. We should leave the young ones to themselves."

The two women, followed by their astute husbands, soon left the foyer, leaving Draco, Astoria and Daphne alone. Astoria embraced her sister fondly.

"Oh, Daphne, so glad you could make it. Draco was quite convinced you wouldn't, weren't you, darling?"

Draco nodded stiffly and averted his gaze. If Daphne had been affected by his presence like he was, she didn't show it. She was as refined and as gracious as ever, embracing her sister warmly and kissing her cheek.

"Of course I would make it, Astoria," she replied pleasantly. "What else could I possibly have to do on a Sunday afternoon?"

Astoria beamed and slunk her arm through Draco's. "Come, dear sister. The others should be arriving soon. There's much to prepare!"

The three of them retired to the sitting room, where Narcissa and Naomi were in deep conversation about the wedding. Draco couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips at the mention of his wedding, and he subconsciously flicked his eyes toward Daphne. Hers met his for a brief moment and there was a clear warning in them to keep his distance, but also a hint of desire.

Astoria flittered to her mother's side and began gushing about flowers and decorations and other trivial matters. Her enthusiasm about the wedding was annoying to say the least, and he wanted nothing more than to forget about it. The women were soon overwhelmed in discussion and Draco sat idly by them, tapping his long, pale fingers against the soft leather of the sofa. As always, Astoria had turned a celebration for him into something about her and he felt bitterly frustrated about it. It was meant to be _his_ birthday, and once again, he was forced to partake in boring conversation about a wedding he had no hand in.

"My, I have worked up quite an appetite," declared Narcissa after a moment.

Naomi nodded in agreement. "Daphne, why don't you go and fetch the slice that Beezy made for me? I'm sure we would all enjoy some of that."

Daphne made to stand, when Narcissa interrupted. "Draco, go with her please. We can't have our guests waiting on us. It would be bad manners."

"Of course, mother," Draco said, nodding his head, and he stood up and accompanied Daphne into the kitchen. They were completely alone and the heat between them was almost unbearable. Daphne was mysteriously silent and refused to look at him as she opened the tin of slice and began to dish it out on a silver platter. As Draco reached for the cutlery, their fingers brushed together and he twitched at the jolt of electricity that ran up his arm. He heard her gasp a little and she drew her hand back quickly, staring at him with wide eyes. She looked so beautiful in that moment, with her dark eyes shining and her mouth slightly open. Draco felt a surge of affection for her and quickly closed the distance between them. Their lips brushed lightly, but Daphne pushed him away in horror before he had a chance to deepen the kiss.

"Draco!" she hissed. "What do you think you are doing?"

He ran a hand through his silky, blonde locks and stared deep into her eyes. "I can't help it, Daphne. This connection between us is too intense – surely you feel it too."

A delicate blush coloured her pale cheeks and she averted her eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about," she told him. "You're engaged to my little sister."

He put his fingers underneath her chin and forced her to look at him. "That may be so, but she's not the woman I love."

Daphne brushed his hands away forcefully and turned her back to him. "Don't say that, Draco. You don't know what you're saying."

She made to leave when he gripped her arm and pulled her towards him. Their faces were inches from each other and he could feel the warmth of her breath washing over his lips.

"Don't I, Daphne?" he asked icily, his voice making shivers erupt on the back of her neck. "I think I know perfectly well what I'm saying. And I think you feel it too. I know you can."

"Draco..." she protested, but he only gripped her arm tighter, forcing her to stay.

"Don't lie to yourself, Daphne. Let yourself feel what I feel." He bent lower and brushed his lips against her ear, making her jump. "Give in to me."

"Think of Astoria," she whispered, her voice breathy from lust. It made him smirk that he had such an effect on her. "She loves you, Draco. I will not be so cruel as to ruin her happiness. She's my baby sister."

"And what about your happiness, Daphne? What about mine? Does that count for something?"

Daphne pulled back and picked up the silver tray laden with the dessert. As she reached the door, she turned back to face him.

"No," she told him firmly. "It doesn't."

* * *

The rest of the evening blurred together for Draco. Blaise, Pansy, Theodore and Goyle soon arrived and the party flowed relatively smoothly. Draco was showered with gifts and praise, which he enjoyed, though he kept stealing glances across the table at Daphne. She purposefully ignored him, which only made him more frustrated, and he soon turned sour as the night went on. Astoria seemed to notice his frequent glances at her older sister and curled her hand protectively around her fiancées arm. Her long, red fingernails dug into the skin every time she caught him staring at her, but Draco was too preoccupied to pay attention.

Blaise stayed a little longer than the rest of them, while Pansy, Theodore and Goyle ventured home. Right away, Astoria took Blaise's full focus with proclamations about the wedding and Draco took this opportunity to converse with Daphne. Astoria's loud, high pitched voice echoed loudly about the room, blanketing their conversation.

"You can't ignore me forever, Daphne," he told her, his voice soft and deep.

She stared purposefully down at her lap and wrung her hands together nervously, desperately trying to prove him wrong. Her determination was quite endearing and Draco couldn't help the smirk that pulled at his lips.

"Don't pull that poker face, Daph. You're too sweet for that."

He laughed when she fixed him with a cold stare. "Stop taunting me, Draco," she muttered darkly. "I won't disrespect my sister."

Draco leaned closer to her and raised on fair eyebrow. "But she's not even your real sister. You just say that to save your family from disgrace. Imagine what people would say if they found out you were the bastard of a filthy Muggle."

Her offense at his statement was clear by the way she stood up abruptly and glowered at him.

"My, Draco, you certainly have a way with women. Insulting their family will definitely win their affections."

"Daphne, wait!" he began, but she stormed out of the room and grabbed her coat.

"Astoria, darling, it's getting late. I'd better be going."

Stopping her conversation, mid-sentence, with Blaise, Astoria turned to look at her sister with her mouth slightly parted in protest.

"Oh, Daphne. Don't go, we were having such a nice time." She stood up and approached Daphne, grasping at her hands and pleading with her brown eyes. "Weren't we, Draco?"

Draco spared a glance at Daphne, who ignored him, and gave his fiancé a small smile. "If Daphne wants to leave, let her."

Pouting selfishly, Astoria nodded and kissed her sister's cheek. "It was lovely seeing you again, darling. I will see you at the dress fitting, yes?"

"Of course," Daphne beamed, her voice a little shaky. "It's at ten, isn't it?"

"Yes! Oh, it will be just spectacular. You should see the dress, Daphne. It is gorgeous, I look so beautiful in it!"

Draco rolled his eyes at his fiancées vanity.

"I'm sure you do, Astoria. I can't wait to see you in it."

Daphne said goodbye to her mother and quickly left. Draco watched her leave with a pit in his stomach. He silently cursed himself for insulting her; she might have stayed longer if he had been a little nicer to her.

Blaise and the rest of Astoria's family soon left not long afterwards, and Astoria felt it fitting to drag him upstairs to their bedroom. Before he could ask what she was doing, she retrieved her wand and locked the door behind them. He frowned in confusion.

"Astoria, what are you doing? What is it?" He was concerned it was another one of her kinky obsessions and felt the need to point out that he wasn't in the mood. But the look on his fiancées face told him that she was far from feeling aroused. Her beautiful features were contorted into an expression of rage that didn't suit her at all and her hands were balled into fists.

"Astoria?" he began tentatively, taking a bold step towards her. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice unnervingly calm. "Oh, nothing's wrong. Nothing at all. Except that my _fiancée _is having an affair with my sister."

At her sudden outburst, Draco blinked rapidly. "Affair?" he muttered in astonishment. Where did she get that idea from? Sure, he was in love with Daphne, but he wasn't having an affair with her. Unless he counted the brief kiss they shared while in the kitchen, though it was clear that his feelings were unrequited. But that had been private. There was no way Astoria knew about that. "What are you talking about?"

She scoffed rudely and rolled her eyes. "Don't you play coy with me, Draco Malfoy," she hissed. "I saw you looking at her. You couldn't take your eyes off her." She stepped towards him, her eyes swimming in rage and pointed at him with a long, red nailed finger. "How can you be so cruel to expect me to just sit and play the perfect hostess, while you two eye-fuck each other?"

His grey eyes narrowed at the use of the profanity. Astoria had quite a filthy mouth compared to her sister, who was sweet and gentle even when alarmed.

"I don't know what you mean," he blurted out, though a part of him knew she was right, at least on his behalf.

"Bullshit!" she screeched, appearing a little demented. Her fingers reached for her wand and Draco gripped the hilt of his defensively, afraid that she was going to start firing curses at him. "Do you think I'm stupid, Draco? Do you think I can't tell?" Another step closer, another step back. "You've lusted after her for years and I've stood by, _hoping_ that it was just a figment of my imagination. _Hoping _that you would forget about her once we were properly engaged."

Draco held up his hands in an attempt to get her to calm down. "Astoria..."

It didn't work. If anything, his actions only made her more irritated. "No!" she shrieked, throwing her hands up in the air. "For once, you can fucking listen when I talk to you!"

He immediately fell silent, his eyes watching her wand hand quivering slightly.

"I want to you to tell me the truth, and if you fucking lie, Merlin have mercy on you because I sure as hell won't. Are you in love with my sister?"

Draco opened his mouth but no words came out. His throat had gone dry. A part of him was torn between lying and telling her about his true feelings for Daphne. Either way, he was sure to be hexed into the next century. Astoria was anything but understanding at the best of times.

"Well?"

"Yes," he muttered. "Yes, I'm in love with Daphne. I've been in love with her since that Christmas Eve four years ago, when I kissed her under the mistletoe. And I kissed her today in the kitchen, when she was preparing that slice for your mother."

Astoria's rage was indescribable. Her bottom lip quivered dangerously and Draco prepared himself for an outburst.

"That little bitch!" Her voice was deathly quiet.

"Don't blame Daphne," he told her immediately, holding out his hand as a sort of truce. "It was all me; she didn't want to do anything to upset you. She loves you."

Astoria slapped his hand away and glared at him. Liquid shimmered in the depths of her brown eyes and she blinked her lids rapidly.

"What about me? We're getting married dammit! I don't care what has happened with Daphne! You and I are staying together... we'll work through this."

Draco sighed and shook his head. "No, Daphne. We're not. I can't go through with this anymore."

Her eyes widened and she gaped at him. "What? No – we're just having a... rough patch... you'll see – things will turn around."

"No, Astoria. I'm done. Our marriage is off."

Without another glance at her, he turned on his heel and headed for the door. Astoria lunged for him and grasped his arm.

"Draco! Wait, you don't mean that."

He shrugged her off and continued walking. "Don't Astoria. I can't do this. I can't marry someone I have no feelings for."

"But think of your family. This marriage is good for them. It will help both of us – clear our families' dark pasts. Surely, you won't rob your family of this chance to become powerful again?"

She was really clutching and straws now and it almost make him laugh at her desperation. She was trying to guilt him into staying. But that wouldn't work. Nothing would. He didn't love Astoria. The arrangement had been made by his parents in a hope that the Malfoy name could restore some sliver of glory. Draco had played no part in the arrangement, and he loathed being treated like a pawn. It wasn't up to his mother to decide who he married. He would have to find that out himself.

"Let me go, Astoria. Show some sort of dignity, it is not good to grovel at my feet."

He left the room, even though it was his own house he was leaving. He didn't care, he just needed to get away from her.

"If you walk away, Draco Malfoy, you can never marry me. I hope you know what you are doing."

He smiled wryly as he pulled on his travelling cloak. "I hope so too."

* * *

Not long after he had walked out on Astoria, Draco found himself outside Daphne's house. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he needed to speak with her – to tell her that things were finally over between him and Astoria.

Daphne opened the door timidly and froze when she saw who it was. Draco felt that familiar tingling feelings shudder up his spine at the sight of her.

"I left Astoria," he blurted out immediately, before she even had a chance to speak.

Her dark eyes widened in shock and she gaped at him. "What do you mean, you left Astoria?" she gasped.

"Exactly that," he told her. "I've left her and now I can be with you."

Daphne faltered and toyed with the ended of her curly hair, wrapping one chocolate ringlet around her finger.

"Draco, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I mean... she's my sister."

He sighed in frustration and ran a hand roughly through his hair. "Dammit Daphne, I don't care. I love you.

He closed the distance between them in two strides and captured her lips in a piercing kiss. She hesitated against him for the briefest of moments, before wrapping her hands around his neck and kissing him back ferociously. Draco walked them backwards into her house and shut the door as he pulled away. The pair stared deeply into each other's eyes, both breathing heavy. Draco noticed the pink colour of her cheeks and smirked smugly.

"I love you too," Daphne whispered softly, beaming up at him. He stroked her cheek and brushed some of her hair away from her face. "So what happens now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I like not knowing."

Daphne smiled and it was then that Draco knew he had made the right decision.

* * *

_**A/N: This has a very 'soap opera' feel to it. The task was to sink one of my Keeper's favourite ships, which was Drastoria (Draco/Astoria). I didn't want to stray from my own Head Cannon, as I am a Draco/Daphne shipper, so I decided to come up with this little scenario. **_

_**Background: Narcissa and Lucius organise an arranged marriage for Draco and Astoria, in order to help their family regain some of their former glory in Pureblood society. Astoria is 2 years younger than Draco, and is selfish, spoilt and vain. Draco, who had previously been in an nonexclusive relationship with Daphne, Astoria's older sister, had no say in the marriage, even though he still had feelings for Daphne. In the end, he leaves Astoria and marries Daphne, much to the horror of his family. Check out my one shot 'Christmas Comfort' to see the beginning of Draco and Daphne's relationship at Hogwarts. **_

_**Sorry about the rant. I hope you enjoyed this! :) xx**_


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